Electrical gate drives have been developed for controlling semiconductor switches used for energizing a load. The gate drive is electrically coupled to an external voltage source via at least two electrical conductors. A drawback with this design is that electromagnetic interference (EMI) can degrade operational performance of the gate drive by inducing undesired voltages and/or currents in the conductor. This condition can create two types of problems: 1) unintentional turn-on or unintentional turn-off of the gate drive, and 2) electromagnetic radiation from high frequency currents flowing down the wires.
The inventors herein have recognized a need for an improved gate drive that can be optically powered and controlled and that reduces and/or eliminates the foregoing deficiencies.